Learning to Breathe
by modernxxmyth
Summary: Tochelle. PostDay Two. How Tony and Michelle's relationship develops towards Day Three. It'll be good, I promise. My Muse eats reviews, so please feed her.
1. Beginnings

**A/N: **Alright, well this is simply another post-season two semi-fluffy Tochelle fic, focusing on the development of their relationship leading to Day 3. Sorry if it's cliche, but it'll be around a while. I live for reviews.

**DISCLAIMER**: I don't own 24. But you already knew that.

**Chapter One – Beginnings**

"So how about that date we talked about last week?" Tony Almeida, director of CTU Los Angeles, sat on the edge of Michelle Dessler's desk with a smile he'd saved for her. It had been one week – one _chaotic _week – since the nuclear bomb had gone off in the desert, George Mason going with it. Both Tony and Michelle had been promoted over the course of the week, Tony taking over George's position, and Michelle taking over Tony's. President Palmer was finally out of critical care and on his way back to Washington. Debris left from the CTU bombing had been cleared away. Things were finally starting to calm down at CTU, and for that, everyone seemed to be thankful.

Michelle cracked a small smile. "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

"Of course not," Tony replied with another grin, "But that hasn't stopped us from much the past week, now has it?"

Michelle laughed lightly, a sound Tony had grown fond of, but had not heard often enough recently. "No, it hasn't," Michelle conceded. "Not at _all_." She turned to him and smiled – they were both obviously thinking of the same memory taking place in a certain dark hallway…

"Then how about it?" he asked, looking slightly nervous, but trying to mask it with a smile of fake confidence.

Michelle saw through it, of course. She always did. She glanced around, making sure none of their colleagues were watching, then touched his hand gently. "What, you thought I could actually turn you down?"

Tony cracked a final grin, leaned in, and whispered in her ear, "So how about tomorrow after work?"

She nodded, casting him a final glance as he walked back up to his office. His phone rang, her computer beeped, and the pair got back to work.

* * *

The next day, work could not pass quickly enough.

Michelle found herself glancing up at Tony's office every few minutes, constantly sneaking a glimpse of him to see what he was doing. Well, more than she normally did, anyway. The day seemed to drag on forever; she could not wait for work to be over for the both of them. Michelle found herself walking up to Tony's office constantly to deliver information that could have easily been delivered over the phone. And it seemed that Tony liked it as much as she did – he was doing the exact same thing the entire day.

That evening Michelle met Tony at the entrance of CTU after work, around seven o'clock. They'd been lucky enough to get off work at a reasonable hour and were glad to have the chance to take advantage of it. Michelle took Tony's hand and asked, "So, where exactly are you taking me?"

"Dinner, of course," he replied smugly.

"And just where would that be?"

"You'll see."

Michelle smiled. "So you're one of _those_ guys."

"_What_ guys?"

Michelle raised an eyebrow. "The surprise type. Anyway, why should I even trust the mysterious man, who won't tell me where we're going, with a bunch of guns in the back of his trunk?" She gestured playfully to the trunk of his car as they climbed inside.

Tony quipped, "Maybe because you've got the same guns in your trunk, too."

"Point taken."

They drove for about twenty minutes, engaging in mild conversation and playful banter, until they arrived at a quaint little Italian restaurant of a very relaxed atmosphere – something both of them could enjoy.

"Well, this is a nice change of pace," Michelle commented.

"I'll say," Tony agreed. "It's been a hectic week."

Michelle spoke quietly, "Yeah." Tony took her hand as a sign of comfort, replacing the look of sadness with a tender smile. He raised her hand up gently and planted a kiss on her knuckles.

"So chivalry really _does_ still exist…" Michelle commented.

Tony smiled. "Born and raised that way."

"Good to know."

* * *

Dinner ended, and the pair found themselves at the front door to Michelle's apartment.

"Well…"Michelle trailed off.

"Well…" Tony followed.

Michelle laughed, tension sizzling between the two. She fiddled with her keys for a moment. Should she invite him in? Should she wait? She had no idea what he was expecting. But it looked to Michelle that he was also unsure. She could understand his hesitation, of course – sex could change everything. Seal the deal between them. Because Michelle knew that sex with Tony wouldn't just be sex...It would be more intimate than that. It was _Tony_, for crying out loud. Sleeping with Tony would form a bond between the two of them that wouldn't be easily broken, so unless they were both serious about this _thing_ they had going on, maybe it wouldn't be a good idea. Michelle knew where she stood – she was already too emotionally involved to turn back – but Tony's perspective on the situation was a complete mystery to her.

"Um…" Michelle attempted to say something. Tony took a look at her expression and interpreted it accurately – she was just as confused as he was.

Tony smiled gently. "Listen, Michelle. I think we should…take this slow. I don't want to mess this up."

Michelle couldn't be disappointed with that reasoning. Her lips curved up in a small smile. "Neither do I."

"So are you busy tomorrow? We both have the whole day off, _finally_," he added as an afterthought. It was their first day off since the day of the bombing. There had been far too much work to do for anyone important to get a break from the piles of work left to do. But things were starting to calm down, and the vast amount of memorial services everyone was attending was minimizing, so Chapelle had finally decided to give the extremely over-worked personnel a day off.

"Besides sleeping 'till noon?" Michelle asked. "No, I'm not doing anything."

Tony chuckled. "I'll call you about doing something tomorrow."

"Alright."

They both stood there uncomfortably for a moment. Michelle bit her lip, and Tony shifted awkwardly on his feet. He glanced at Michelle's face, almost seeking confirmation of mutual agreement on the next step. Finally, he leaned in and kissed her, softly at first, then with more passion, and she responded with equal passion and fervor. Eventually they broke off, Michelle rested her head against Tony's, and both tried to regain their breath. They rested there for a moment more, neither wanting to move and disturb the moment. But ultimately, after much internal grumbling, Tony placed one last kiss on her lips.

"I'll call you tomorrow."

He kissed her on the forehead tenderly and walked off with a goofy grin, leaving Michelle breathless.

Michelle headed inside after a moment and headed to bed, sleeping better than she had in weeks.

* * *

**A/N: **I live for reviews. They feed my muse.


	2. A Matter of Trust

**A/N: **First off, I'd like to say that you guys are incredible. Thanks so much for all the great feedback! You definately pushed me to get the next chapter out quickly. Believe me, I'm normally horrible about updates. Thanks so much for the support! I loved your input; it's much appreciated. I hope this next chapter lives up to your expectations...

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own 24, as much as I wish I did.

**Chapter Two – A Matter of Trust**

By the fourth date, Michelle was getting restless.

Their relationship was sweet. It allowed them to cherish each moment they spent together. It was amazing – _Tony_ was amazing. But they'd yet to have sex. Michelle could tell by the look in his eyes at the end of each date that he wanted it. And she knew he knew where she stood. She couldn't help but think that it was a matter of trust.

She knew Tony had issues. Lots and lots of issues. A great portion of them pertaining to Nina Meyers. And she knew that if they were going to move forward in their relationship, like both of them wanted to, they'd need to talk about it. Soon, preferably. Michelle could understand where he was coming from – the last women dated betrayed him, and she betrayed her country. But she also knew that he couldn't let that rule his life, and that they could never have a relationship if he didn't trust her.

So she decided to have a talk with him. And she hoped beyond hope that it would be soon.

* * *

It was the end of their fifth date, and Tony and Michelle were standing on Michelle's doorstep yet again. Michelle leaned in to kiss him, and Tony eagerly responded. Eventually, she broke it off and reached for her keys. This was the perfect opportunity… 

"Do you want to come inside? I sort of want to talk to you about something…" Michelle trailed off, unsure of how to address the topic.

"Uh, yeah, alright," Tony replied, scratching the side of his face.

Michelle opened the door and led him into the apartment as he took in his surroundings. The apartment was nice – it wasn't overly girly, nor was it overly bland. It was comfortable, with lots of earthy tones, maintaining some relaxing, soothing quality that Tony could definitely get used to, especially after all the strenuous days at work they tended to have.

Michelle made her way over to the kitchen and set her purse on the counter. "Do you want some coffee?" she asked as she put on a pot.

Tony nodded silently, still looking around. Connected to the kitchen was the den, which Tony stood in. There was a television in the center of an entertainment center, with several shelves, holding DVDs ranging from Gone with the Wind to The Godfather. Apparently she had varying taste – he liked that about her. Also in the room was a large bookcase, consisting of 4 shelves, all of which were fairly full. He glanced at some of the titles. _Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma_...Apparently Michelle was a bit of a Jane Austen fan. Tony knew most of the stories himself, having grown up in a household of three younger sisters, all of which, had somehow forced Tony into seeing one of the movies based off of the books. His second sister, Jennifer, especially had been obsessed with the women's works, somehow manipulating Tony into reading _Pride and Prejudice_ along with her while she was fighting with her younger and older sister.

Tony was yanked from his thoughts as Michelle handed him his coffee, black, just as he liked it. He smiled at the thought that she had remembered that detail, without having to ask how he liked his. She'd seen him pounding back the caffeine at work enough times…

"So what did you want to talk about?" Tony asked nonchalantly, though not seeming to maintain the image very well.

Michelle sat down on her couch and curled her legs underneath her, motioning for Tony to sit next to her. He took a sip of his coffee, trying to calm his nerves.

"I-um- kind of wanted to ask you a question. I'm sorry if this seems out of line, but honestly I need to ask it if we're ever going to get anywhere with this…_whatever_ it is we're doing here…" They hadn't exactly defined their relationship with the other yet.

Tony looked down, having a feeling he knew where this conversation was headed. It had been inevitable, of course, and it was a talk he knew they needed, but that didn't make the topic any more appeasing. He looked up at her, an apologetic expression on his face, and Michelle melted for him.

"I just," Michelle began uncomfortably, "Well, I just wanted to know...Do you trust me, Tony?"

Tony scratched the side of his face subconsciously and took another sip of his coffee. He sighed. "Of course I trust you." He didn't sound convincing to himself or to Michelle.

"Are you sure about that, Tony? Because you don't act like it…"

Tony sighed again. He knew he'd have to get over his fears and insecurities eventually, but he hadn't expected her to bring it up so soon. It wasn't Michelle, of course. Deep down, he knew he could trust her. But the insecurities Nina left were instilled in him, and a small, but significant, part of him shielded the areas Nina had damaged.

"I'm sorry for acting this way, Michelle. I _want_ to trust you. You know that. It's just…" Tony broke off, helplessly.

Michelle sighed and took his hand lightly in hers. "Nina?"

"Nina," Tony confirmed grimly.

Michelle stared at him, and he squirmed under her stare. "I'm not Nina, Tony. I'm not going to betray you, and I'm not going to betray the country. I could never do something like that."

"I know," Tony mumbled. He stared directly into her eyes. "I'm sorry, 'Chelle."

She squeezed his hand. "It's okay," she spoke quietly.

Tony leaned in and kissed her, softly at first. But then with more passion, reminding them both with a jolt of their first kiss, taking place at CTU, in a dark hallway. They'd both needed it then, just as they both did now. The kiss was long and passionate, full of both love and lust. But there was one main difference between this kiss and the one at CTU. This time they didn't break it off. Neither of them had any plans of leaving the other's sight that night.

Tony found himself tugging at the bottom of Michelle's shirt and she fumbling with the buttons on his. She worked the shirt of him just as he began to pull her top over her head. Michelle kissed him again and moaned lightly against his lips as he responded. She pulled away for a moment and motioned to a door down the hall. "My bedrooms down the there…" she whispered. They never lost contact with one another on the way there.

Michelle looked into Tony's eyes for a moment, seeking confirmation that he was sure. She didn't need to ask. She could see it by the look on his face – he was sure.

Michelle closed the door behind them.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed! I hope to get the next chapter out by next weekend, but it's likely not to happen...I have exams next week and still have tons of reviewing to do. Reviews are appreciated, as I'm sure you've noticed by now. :-) 

-Laura


	3. The Morning After

**A/N: **Sorry this is so late in coming. I had exams last week, and then I was celebrating the fact that we're out of school for the summer with my friends. And I had drill team stuff. And FYI, I probably won't be updating again until late next week because I have drill team officer camp. It should definately be an...experience to say the least. Now just some review response: Thanks so much for all the reviews. You have no idea how awesome you guys are. Thanks for feeding the Muse. :-) And in reference to the sex scene - I know some of you wanted me to write more, and some of you were glad I didn't. I'm sorry if you were one of the people who wanted me to really write the sex scene, but I tend to struggle with writing them, so there won't be a lot. I mean, there will be plenty of sex, (wow, that made me sound bad), just not...descriptive sex. Eh. Anyway, I hope you keep reading!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own 24. Maybe I will one day, ya know, once I've taken over the world, and kidnapped Carlos Bernard for my person sex slave of sorts. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. So, for now, these characters are borrowed.

* * *

**Chapter Three – The Morning After**

Michelle lied in her bed, staring at the silhouette of Tony's body next to hers in the glowing light of daybreak. It was sunrise, and the light was casting an attractive orange tint onto Tony's bare skin. He was still sound asleep, but she's never been much of a sleeper herself. Caffeine was what got her through the day now, like so many others at CTU. It was early, and Michelle desperately wanted a cup of coffee, but she didn't want to get up, for fear of disturbing Tony and disrupting the image before her. She glanced at the clock. 5:23 AM. She sighed. She didn't have to be up for a while, and she really needed the sleep…Michelle glanced back over at Tony, who was still sleeping peacefully, breathing in loud, even patterns, which she'd grown fond of over the past few hours. She reached out and rubbed his hand idly, and he shifted, squeezing it subconsciously. Michelle smiled inwardly and fell back to sleep.

* * *

To spite the both of them, Michelle's alarm went off in what felt like just moments after she'd fallen back to sleep. Tony woke to Michelle rustling out of bed and grabbing her robe, wrapping it around herself. He yawned loudly, glanced in her direction, and smiled lazily. "Morning."

"Morning," Michelle replied somewhat embarrassedly, a mischievous grin on her face.

"What time is it?" Tony asked.

Michelle sighed. "6:15. We've got work."

Tony groaned. "Can't we just stay here?"

Michelle noted with a smile that he seemed to be very cranky in the mornings. "Sadly, no. I'm going to take a quick shower, I'll meet you in the kitchen."

"Can't I meet you in the _shower_?"

"Well then it wouldn't be a very _quick_ shower, now would it? Plus, we need to stop by your place – wherever the hell it is that you live. You need to change your clothes before our briefing with Division at 8:30." Michelle choked back a laugh at the image of what Chapelle's face would be like to see Tony walking into CTU with Michelle, wearing the same clothes from the day before.

"You're the morning type, aren't you?" Tony asked groggily.

"I guess you could say that." Michelle flashed him a playful grin and headed off to the bathroom.

* * *

Tony sat in Michelle's kitchen, sipping a cup of freshly made coffee in a simplistic white mug that made him long for his Cubs one, which he had taken the liberty of dragging out of one of her many messy cabinets. While he dug through her pantry, searching for something for breakfast, quite nearly all he saw were an assortment of cereal boxes, cans of food, and microwavable meals. Apparently she wasn't the cooking type.

He sat back down with a bowl of Wheaties and his cup of coffee, and began to think about the night before. It had been incredibly; indescribably, really. The night had made him fall for Michelle all over again and in a whole new way, if it was possible. He just hoped it had meant as much to her. But when Michelle walked into the room, all doubts and uncertainties vanished.

She was still in her bathrobe, wet, curly strands of hair sprawled across her face and neck, her make-up already applied. "Hi," Michelle smiled gently, simply glowing.

"Hey." There was a moment of tension, neither knowing exactly what to say. Tony flashed her a goofy grin. "So what exactly do you eat around here? Because I'm not finding much."

Michelle chortled uncomfortably. "I can't really cook."

"Well then it's lucky for you that I can!" Tony replied.

"You can _cook_?" she asked skeptically.

"I cook well. I _enjoy_ cooking, actually. I'd make you breakfast if you had something in this apartment to make it with. I don't even see a _frying pan_ for crying out loud…"

"You were snooping, then?" Michelle accused, the corners of his lips tugging upwards.

"Ah…" Tony knew she'd got him. "I was only looking for food!"

"Sure, Almeida. _Sure_." Michelle sat down across from him, a smug look on her face.

Tony reached across the table and handed her a cup of coffee, with a bit of cream in it. "Made you some coffee."

Michelle's face lit up. "You remembered how I like it."

"Well I spend enough time in that break room with you to know everything about your coffee preferences."

"That's definitely true. You _do_ spend a lot of time in that break room…shouldn't you be working more often than not?" Michelle tried to act serious and she fiddles with the coffee cup in her hands and took a sip to hide her smile.

"Hey! I'm still you're boss you know! I don't like being insulted. I could fire you, y'know. Insubordination is big deal!"

Michelle stood up, heading to the pantry, laughing, but spoke in a very serious voice, a hint of sarcasm detectable. "I'm sure it is. And Tony, _you_ trying to fire _me_ would probably be a sign of the Apocalypse, because I really don't think you have the heart." She shook her head sadly.

Tony scowled. "C'mere you…" He stood up and grabbed Michelle around the waist and pulled her into his lap in his chair. She wrestled with him for some time, trying to escape his grasp, but failed miserably when she couldn't contain her laughter.

"You're very cute when you laugh," Tony commented.

Michelle smiled and glanced at the clock. "We've got to get going. We still have to stop at your apartment before work."

"What about breakfast?"

"We can stop for muffins or something on the way…"

They headed out the door.

* * *

Tony and Michelle headed to Division in separate cars, by Michelle's suggestion, and arrived within five minutes of each other. Michelle arrived first and headed inside for the meeting. She met Chapelle on the way, and the two headed into the room together. Michelle glanced at her watch as she sat in her chair. They were still waiting for a few members to arrive. Tony was one of them.

He stumbled into the room about five minutes later, much to Chapelle's annoyance. "Almeida! You're late! It's 8:31. We've been here for ages waiting. You're Director of CTU, Tony, I expect better of you! Michelle here was very prompt, arriving early. If you like you're position at CTU, you better damn well start arriving on time!"

Michelle struggled to stifle her laughter.

* * *

**A/N:** Next time, expect some CTU action.


	4. Out in the Field

**A/N: **W00T for long, action-packed chapters! Thanks for all the reviews! You guys are fabulous. Please leave more. I'm very review!selfish, as is my Muse.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own 24. Because if I did, Michelle would have been out in the field more. Hence this chapter. I shouldn't have told you that.

**Chapter Four – Out in the Field**

A month passed quickly, with brief, but memorable, moments of work, nights out together, and an overnight every few days at each other's apartment. They were both falling fast, though they'd never think of admitting that to each other, nor had they truly admitted it to themselves. They were both happy, and, their relationship had yet to interfere with work. Naturally, both had managed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone at CTU so far. Although they'd overhear the occasional piece of gossip about them, both knew it was simply speculation, and no one had any real concrete evidence that Tony and Michelle were seeing each other. So they'd simply sneak glances at each other when no one was looking and share secretive smiles as they'd look from office to station. And both Tony and Michelle were happy that way.

Michelle had been recently retrained in Field Ops, as Jack had recruited her a few weeks back. Just in case, he'd told her, and she had no real problem with that. Everyone at CTU knew that Michelle was their go-to-girl for anything computer related. And she was a great shot, so training had been a fun refresher course. A week or so back, Tony had hired two new employees to fill empty positions (everyone had stopped talking of why they were empty), Chloe O'Brian and Gael Ortega. Both were hardworking agents, though everyone was a little wary of Chloe. She had amazing computer skills, but her personality was a bit…off. Everyone ignored it, of course, for fear of just setting her off more.

It was an early Thursday morning at CTU Los Angeles, as Michelle sat at her station, typing away at her computer. She glanced up at Tony's office with a smile on her face, hoping to watch him work for a moment. It was a bit of a stress reliever to her, nowadays, watching Tony in his office. A glance at him seemed to calm her nerves and her stress. But today wasn't one of those days. Tony was pacing back in forth in his office, looking stressed, rubbing his hand across his face as he always did, on a phone call with god knows who. Michelle frowned and turned back to her work, hoping it wasn't anything too serious.

Boy was she wrong.

Tony came traipsing down from his office and called all attention onto him. "We have an active protocol," he announced. A biological threat to LAX airport. It's a virus, and if severe sickness occurs when brought in contact. It's being flown overseas, we don't know from where yet, and is going to be released somewhere within the airport. It's our job to stop it." Everyone dispersed.

A few moments later, the phone rang over at Tactical. It was Jack. Tony put him on speaker. "Tony," Jack began. "We've got a situation. It turns out this hostile I've been following is linked to something else going on today at the airport, I don't know what yet."

"We've heard, Jack. It's a virus. We're planning on sending a team over and work up some Intel."

"I can't leave here, Tony," Jack replied. "I've just started interrogating this guy and it looks like he's extremely valuable to the operation. I already know how he works – I need to do his interrogation. Send Michelle with a Tac team to secure the virus."

Michelle watched as Tony's eyes bulged and, she sighed, knowing exactly what was coming.

"No way, Jack." Tony was stoic.

Jack's voice continued on the intercom, "We need her! I can't go, send Michelle."

"I can't do that!" Tony exploded.

Michelle shifted nervously in her spot, glancing around to see if others were looking. Many were.

"Tony!" Jack yelled. "You need. To send. Michelle."

Michelle rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "You've got to let me do my job," she said quietly, but forcefully.

"But-"

"Tony!" Jack and Michelle shouted at the same time.

Tony was desperate. "I'll go myself!"

"We need you here to run CTU," Michelle stated.

There was a silence.

"I'll go get changed." Michelle left to the locker rooms, leaving Tony watching her helplessly.

* * *

Michelle changed quickly, but took a moment to think afterwards. She was both touched and annoyed by Tony's reaction. But he could not let their relationship get in the way of their jobs. She knew they'd have to talk about it later. Michelle rubbed her temples again, downed an aspirin, and headed back out. She was about to lead a team out when Tony stopped her in the hallway.

"Michelle…" he looked at her vulnerably.

She smiled softly at him in reassurance. "I have to go."

"I know…" he kissed her gently on the forehead. "Be careful, alright?"

Michelle nodded. "Alright."

She headed off into the field.

* * *

Michelle stood with her team outside the airport, waiting for Intel from CTU. She heard Chloe come over her comm. unit. "You're best bets are through the northwest or northeast entrances. Infrared shows four hostiles guarding each."

"Copy that. Thanks Chloe."

Michelle listened as Tony's voice came over her ear piece. "Michelle, we've just received information from Jack confirming that the virus and its carrier are on Atlantic flight 416, coming in from Moscow. It looks like Russian separatists. The man you're looking for is someone by the name of Khorkina. Could be an alias. The flight comes in gate B23 in approximately 45 minutes."

"Alright, copy that." Michelle turned to her team. "We're going to the northeast entrance. Four hostiles and four more likely to come at the sound of gunfire."

The team managed to break the lock on the doors. "I'm going in first."

Gael spoke up, "I'll cover you."

Michelle nodded. "We'll give you the all clear to move in."

They headed inside, guns at the ready, moving as discreetly as possible. She rounded the corner carefully, but a hostile saw her and started shooting. So she shot back. The other three hostiles started shooting at the sound of gunfire, all of which were taken down by Michelle and Gael. Two were dead, two were on the ground, bleeding, reaching for the guns. Michelle grabbed their weapons and knocked them both over their heads with the butt of their guns. Gael cuffed them both to railing on the wall.

Michelle spoke into her comm. unit, "Two hostiles down, two about to be taken into custody."

Chloe reported, "The other four should be on their way then."

"Copy that."

Michelle motioned for Gael to move forward, as she did so herself, and got in a discreet position, where the hostiles would be entering the area, in hopes of catching them by surprise. Apparently the terrorists weren't extremely efficient in close combat. They listened as the other four hostiles approached. At the exact same time, Michelle and Gael came out of their covert positions and cornered them. The hostiles started firing, and Michelle felt a bullet graze her neck but nothing entirely serious. She and Gael shot back, eventually fatally wounding all four of the hostiles, who were, apparently, the better fighters, and the better shots.

Michelle turned to Gael, making sure he was alright. He was tense, but fine. Michelle called in the team and ordered agents Thompson and Stevens to take the two live hostiles into custody. She spoke into her comm. unit, "The other four hostiles are down, and the other two have been taken into custody."

"Nice work, Michelle," she heard Tony say into her earpiece.

Gael spoke to Michelle, concerned, gesturing to her neck, "You should probably get that checked out by medic."

Michelle shook her head. "No time. It's just a flesh wound." She paused, "But thanks for the concern." She flashed him a small smile. She turned to the rest of the team. "Airport security has been informed of the situation, and the evacuation process has begun, but there's no way they could have everyone out of here in time. We have no room for failure, people. Let's set up at gate B23."

* * *

Yelena Khorkina sat in her seat on flight 416, fiddling nervously with the zipper on her briefcase, which contained the dangerous virus CTU was currently attempting to secure. Not that she knew that, of course. At this point she believed they were still entirely covert. She looked out the window and fiddled with the gun in her jacket, watching as the plane landed. It was almost time.

Khorkina heard the pilot's voice come over the intercom, "Thank you for flying Atalntic." His voice sounded tense, Khorkina noted. "You have now arrived in Los Angeles, California. The time is now 2:42 PM. Please remain in your seats until stated otherwise. I repeat, all passengers, please remain in your seats." The pilot then repeated the message in Russian. Khorkina shifted slightly in her seat and wiped her palms on her seat. They knew. The time to act was now. She drew stood up, and people watched in confusion, until she drew her gun and shot it into the air. "Stay where you are, with you heads down, and you will get to live," Khorkina shouted.

She approached the exit, killed the guard, and exited the plane, dashing into the airport. Khorkina ran like hell, knowing they'd be following her, and sure enough, when she turned her head, she was proven correct, seeing a group of what appeared to be government agents of some sort following her. She started to unzip her briefcase, but dropped it as she felt a bullet rip through her shoulder.

Khorkina watched meekly and a woman with curly hair and a tense face came forward and grabbed the briefcase and examined its contents. The woman spoke into her comm. unit, "The virus is in custody. It has not yet been armed. We're taking it to the containment unit now. Khorkina is being taken into custody now. We'll need medic." Khorkina watched as the women smiled at a comment from whoever was talking on her comm. unit. It was disgusting, really.

* * *

Michelle walked into CTU some time later, pressing on the bandage on her neck. Tony met her in the hallway, a look of concern crossing his face at the sight of the bandage. Michelle glanced around to make sure no one was in the area and allowed Tony to pull her into a hug.

"Baby, I didn't know you were hurt...Are you alright?" he asked.

Michelle smiled stiffly, "I'm fine. It's just cosmetic."

"Okay," Tony said quietly, kissing her quickly on the cheek and letting go, "Come on, we need you in the situation room."

Throughout the debriefing, Tony watched as Michelle's face remained stoic and tense, as if she was trying to push something out of her mind the entire time and deal with it later. But now wasn't the time to deal with it, Tony noted, and decided to ask her about it later. When the debriefing finished, Jack asked Tony and Michelle to stay seated while everyone left. Apparently he wanted to talk to them about something. Tony groaned slightly, knowing exactly what was coming.

"So," Jack began. "What's going on between you two?"

Michelle rubbed her temples and glanced at Tony.

Tony sighed, "Was I really _that_ obvious?"

"You were hardly playing the part of the concerned friend," Michelle commented.

Tony's lips tugged upward slightly.

"So how long has this been going on?" Jack demanded.

"About a month," Tony replied.

Jack looked nearly furious. "A _month_? Tony! I expected more from you! You know why interoffice relationships aren't permitted! Didn't you learn _anything_ from what happened with Nina?"

Michelle looked appalled. "Are you _actually_ comparing me to Nina Myers, Jack?" She slammed her fist on the table.

He looked taken aback. "I'm sorry…that was out of line."

"Yeah," Michelle replied angrily, "It was."

Tony shot daggers at Jack, who sighed.

"Listen," Jack spoke, "I'm not going to tell Chapelle about this because I like both of you. And Chapelle's a pain in the ass. But you can't let it interfere with your jobs, alright?"

"Yeah," Tony said gruffly, and Michelle nodded.

"We done here?" she asked.

Jack nodded, and she left the room immediately. Tony gave Jack a look of slight annoyance, but understanding.

"Sorry," Jack said shortly.

Tony sighed, "I know you're just looking out for me, Jack. We were both betrayed by Nina, you especially. I just realized I couldn't let it rule my life anymore."

Jack nodded. "Yeah." His voice cracked faintly as he spoke. He paused, as if adjusting to the new information. He patted Tony lightly on the back, "Good luck."

* * *

That night after work, Tony and Michelle both lay in bed in Tony's apartment. It was two in the morning, and Tony was fast sleep, but Michelle remained awake, restless, fidgety, and shaky, purposely facing her body away from Tony's, not wanting him to be able to see her face if he woke up. She didn't want him to see her vulnerable again.

Tony awoke a few minutes later, no longer feeling Michelle in his arms. He sensed something was wrong when he noticed her slight trembles on the other side of the bed. "'Chelle?" he questioned groggily. "What's wrong?"

She was silent for a moment, but a light sob escaped her unwilling lips. Tony pulled her towards him and into his arms. "Michelle…sweetheart, talk to me." She shook her head furiously. Tony paused for a moment, and then realization hit him. "You've never killed before have you?"

Michelle finally turned towards him. "No," she whispered, grabbing hands and moving towards him, failing miserably and wiping the tears from her stained face.

Tony caressed her face gently and whispered, "Sweetheart, you had to do it. For your safety, and those of innocent citizens. Alright?"

"I know. I just-it's just-" she broke off. "I killed four people, Tony!"

He tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "It's something you have to go through with this job, and I'm so sorry for it."

Michelle nodded timidly. "It's just…hard."

Tony kissed her lightly on the forehead, "I know, baby. I know."

* * *

**A/N:** Feed my Muse. Review! Next time will be more fluffy romance.


	5. Life and Death

**A/N: **Hey there. So, um, sorry I've been MIA for about 6 months. I do that from time to time. I know I don't really have much of an excuse. I've just been really busy and have been having a hard time lately. Anyway, I'm back now! Enjoy the chapter.

**DISCLAMER: **I don't own 24. 20th Century Fox does and all that jazz!!

**Chapter Five – Life and Death**

A few weeks later, Tony and Michelle were sitting around in Tony's apartment one night, cuddled up together, watching a movie that neither were paying much attention to. It had been a long day at the office and it felt nice to finally be able to unwind in each other's arms. It was bordering midnight, when the phone rang.

Tony blinked several times, trying to wake up. He grabbed the phone on its last ring and answered in groggily. "Hello?" his voice cracked with tiredness.

"Tony?" came the quiet voice of Tony's younger, 20 year old sister.

"Marie? Is that you?" he asked, dumbfounded. "Why are you calling so late? Is everything alright?"

"Um…yeah, everything's fine," she replied unconvincingly.

Tony sighed. "I don't believe you."

"Well…uh…okay, I'm kind of freaking out right now," Marie replied quickly.

Tony asked the obvious question, "Why?"

"Promise you won't freak out?"

Tony hesitated. "What'd you do?"

She sighed. "I'm pregnant."

"You're _WHAT_?!" Tony watched as Michelle sat up at this, all grogginess having subsided.

Marie's voice cracked, "Tony! Calm down! I don't know what to do…I don't know how to tell mom and dad."

Tony rubbed a hand over his face in frustration and exhaustion. "Well, for starters, who's the father?"

"Michael. He doesn't want anything to do with it."

_I knew I always hated that kid for a reason_, Tony thought to himself.

"Alright," Tony began, "Are you busy tomorrow? I can meet you for lunch. I'll take a break from work, say, 1:00? Okay, I'll meet you at our usual place."

Tony hung up and buried his face in the crook of Michelle's neck, sighing. Michelle ran a hand through his hair soothingly. "What's going on?" she asked.

"My sister's pregnant, and completely unprepared."

Michelle, at hearing this, moved on to massaging his scalp. "So you're going to meet her for lunch to talk about it?" Tony nodded a reply into her neck and made a noise of anguish. Michelle had to choke back a laugh. "It'll be okay," she said, "We'll figure it out together, alright?"

Tony expressed his thanks in the form of a kiss on her neck.

"C'mon," Michelle spoke, standing up and dragging Tony with her, "You need sleep."

* * *

Tony left CTU for his lunch break dreading the conversation he knew was coming. He showed up at a small café a few minutes later he always met his sister at. Marie was already there, drinking ice water, looking anxious. Tony sat down and greeted her.

"Okay. So let's try and get this figured out. My first question would be the most obvious: do you want to keep it?"

Marie bit her fingernails. "I don't know."

"Alright, well, that's definitely what you want to figure out first…"

Marie spoke after a silence, "Yes," she said finally. "I want to keep it."

"We both know mom and dad can help you out financially if need be, but…"

She smiled a small smile. "We'll leave that as a last resort."

"Wise choice. But you need to tell them soon."

"I don't know how! I can't handle telling them...Can't you do it for me?" she pleaded.

"No," he said firmly. "You and I both know this is somethingyou have to do yourself. Just…invite yourself over for dinner or something. I can come with you if you want, for moral support and all that. Hell, maybe I'll bring Michelle…" he added as an afterthought.

"Okay," Marie replied, her voice shaking slightly. I'll call you about it soon."

"Alright." Tony reached over and gave his sister a hug. "It'll work out, okay?"

"Okay," she replied timidly.

"C'mon, let's get some food." He picked up his menu and handed Marie hers.

* * *

Tony was back at CTU, lounging in his office, doing a whole lot of nothing. All their reports were done; they were just waiting for a response from Division about a lead they'd received.

"You wanna get a drink after work?" Jack asked casually.

"Yeah, sure."

"I know this great place on 42nd street…"

* * *

Michelle was sitting in her apartment that night, sipping coffee from the Cubs mug Tony had left in her apartment (she liked to drink from it when he wasn't around, though she'd never admit that to _him_ of course), watching a bit of television. Tony was out for drinks with Jack, which gave Michelle some alone time, which was, despite what Tony might like to convince her of, was nice every once and a while. She was halfway through painting the toenails on her left foot a nice shade of red when the phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered, silently congratulating herself for remembering she didn't have to answer with her last name at home.

"Hi Michelle…" a gruff, tired voice came over the line.

"Dad? Is that you?" she asked, distractedly, trying to paint her pinky toe.

"Yeah, honey, it's me. Um, listen. I don't know how to say this…"

A beat. She put down the nail polish. Another beat. She heard her father's voice again: "Your mother's dead."

A beat. The horrible truth sank in. Michelle was silent. Her father sensed she wasn't going to speak anytime soon, and continued, "It was a car crash. She was coming home from the store when some reckless teenager came through a crashed right into her. She was killed upon impact."

Michelle let out a tiny, "Oh."

"The funeral's next week, here in LA…"

A dry sob escaped her lips, but no tears came. "Okay."

"Michelle?"

"Yeah?" she quietly responded.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, dad."

She hung up the phone and burst into tears.

* * *

Tony was working his way through his second beer with Jack when his cell phone went off. He let out an audible groan and answered it.

"Almeida."

The was silence for a moment on the other line, until a tiny, quiet voice spoke, their voice breaking either due to emotion of the speaker or static on the phone, Tony wasn't sure which. "Um…Tony?"

He recognized the voice immediately.

"Michelle?" Tony heard a sob on the other line. "Michelle, what's wrong?"

But the only response he received was that of muffled sobbing.

"Michelle…" No response. Jack gave Tony a questioning look.

Michelle breathed out a sigh. "My mom just died," she said finally.

"I'm coming over," he said immediately.

She gave a halfhearted protest: "You don't have to…" But he wouldn't hear any of it. A few more moments of conversation and Tony hung up.

Jack glanced questioningly at him.

"I have to go," Tony replied simply.

"Something wrong?" Jack asked.

Tony sighed. "Michelle's mom just died."

Jack nodded sadly in response. "I'll see you later, man."

"Yeah," Tony croaked.

* * *

There was a knock on Michelle's door approximately 15 minutes later. She answered it quietly, and Tony walked in, a worried expression on his face. He pulled Michelle into a hug immediately, but she didn't move, completely unresponsive. He pulled away, judging her expression. There was none. He could see that she had been crying – her face was red and puffy and tearstained. But she looked straight into nowhere with empty eyes and a guarded, vague expression. Tony judged that she looked simply…numb. Completely, utterly numb.

He took her hand and walked her over to the couch. "Michelle?" he tried. She was silent. Tony wanted to nudge her, shake her, anything to get a reaction out of her. He squeezed her hand and took to rubbing his thumb over her fingers, not knowing what else to do. They sat there in complete quiet for several minutes, until suddenly, the tears started flowing. Tony pulled her towards him, and she began sobbing into his chest. Neither spoke; it was unnecessary, as they had a connection that had no words.

* * *

Review! PLEASE! 


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